Pedestrian self-reported use of smart phones: Positive attitudes and high exposure influence intentions to cross the road while distracted

Pedestrian crashes are an important issue globally as pedestrians are a highly vulnerable road user group, accounting for approximately 35% of road deaths worldwide each year. In highly motorised countries, pedestrian distraction by hand held technological devices appears to be an increasing factor in such crashes. An online survey (N = 363) was conducted to 1) obtain prevalence information regarding the extent to which people cross the road while simultaneously using mobile phones for potentially distracting activities; 2) identify whether younger adult pedestrians are more exposed to/at risk of injury due to this cause than older adults; and 3) explore whether the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) might provide insight into the factors influencing the target behaviours. Self-reported frequency of using a smart phone for three levels of distraction (visual and cognitive-texting/internet; cognitive only- voice calls; audio only-listening to music) while crossing the road was collected. Results indicated that about 20% of the sample had high exposure to smart phone use while crossing, especially 18–30 year olds who were significantly more likely than other age groups to report frequent exposure. TPB constructs of Attitude, Subjective Norm, and Perceived Behavioural Control significantly predicted intentions to use a smart phone while crossing the road, accounting for 62% of variance in Intentions for the entire sample, and 54% of the variance for 18–30 year olds. Additional variables of Mobile Phone Involvement and Group Norms provided an additional significant 6% of the variance explained for both groups. Attitude was by far the strongest predictor for both the whole sample and for 18–30 year olds, accounting for 38% and 41% explained variance, respectively. This suggests that pedestrians with positive attitudes towards using their smart phones while crossing the road have stronger intentions to do so. Moreover, high exposure was associated with stronger intentions to use a smart phone while crossing, and the effect was large, suggesting high frequency mobile phone use may lead to riskier habits, such as failing to interrupt use while crossing the road. Interventions should target pedestrians under 30 years old and aim to strengthen negative attitudes towards using smart phones while crossing, or to challenge the perceived advantages or emphasise the disadvantages of using one’s phone while crossing in order to reduce intentions to do so. Young people’s perceptions that others in their social group approve of smart phone use while crossing could also be an important factor to address